


The hat

by StarsMadeinHeaven



Category: A Pál utcai fiúk | The Paul Street Boys - Molnár Ferenc
Genre: M/M, actual boatman Csónakos, merman Csele
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24015034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsMadeinHeaven/pseuds/StarsMadeinHeaven
Summary: Merman Csele's life is anything but extraordinary. He knew the Kingdom of the Seven Seas by heart and now needed a new distraction to give meaning to his boring life. This is when he met a fisherman wearing the most beautiful hat Csele had ever seen.... and damn, he needed that hat.Or, the five times Csele attempts to get the hat, and the one time he doesn't even try.
Relationships: Csele/Csónakos (Pál utcai fiúk)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	The hat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rumoris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rumoris/gifts).
  * Translation into Magyar available: [A kalap](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29306865) by [Wit131](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wit131/pseuds/Wit131)



> This is a birthday present to my friend, Rumoris! <3 I hope you'll like it.  
> A special thank you to LWTIS for quickly beta-ing this fic!!! 
> 
> You're both so awesome.

Being the King of the Seven Seas might sound rather compelling, but if you were to ask the King himself, he would be rather unenthusiastic on the subject. Disappointed, you would turn to his sister for an explanation and she would tell you Csele was in fact no king, but a mere merprince, not even a direct heir to the throne.

His vagueness was not a sign of him being ashamed of pretending to be the King of the Seven Seas. In his heart, he was indeed a King. The problem was that he was bored of being an inhabitant of the Seven Seas. It was that part of the title that bothered him so much. 

My dear readers, do not be disappointed. Our story starts exactly with Csele’s great boredom. Had he been surrounded by friends and schedule booked wall to wall, his life wouldn’t have been anything extraordinary. You must understand that Csele’s kingdom is an extremely pacific but a fairly secluded one. There weren’t many occasions for dramatic distractions. Our panorama stretches as far as the eye can see, filling the sight with hues of blue and green, which have nothing else to offer but their liveliness. Fishes stick to their traffic every morning, and unless there is a shark emergency, everyone keeps to their daily, boring routine. 

It must be said that young King - sorry, prince - Csele would not have described the Seven Seas as boring, at least in the first seven years of his life. Back when he was a little kid, his kingdom was a whole new world to explore. By the end of his fourteenth birthday, however, there was not a single cave, atoll and sea cliff that Csele didn’t know. His fifteenth year in the world was marked by his parents prohibiting him from exploring the surface – which was the only thing Csele had never seen with his own two eyes. 

In his defense, he did heed the words of his parents at first. But the temptation was strong and at sixteen, Csele said ‘fuck it’ and took the risk despite his mother’s warnings that humans were dangerous and laden with destructive diseases. 

It was on such a day of teenage rebellion that Csele discovered ships. But what made him fall in love with the humans’ weird means of transportation was not the transportation itself, but what some of those ships contained. Csele learned pretty soon that those fancy materials, which so attracted him, were used by humans not only to cover their nudity and protect themselves against the cold, but also for… swagger. They made a show of them, strutting on the deck in denim so tight it left nothing to imagination. Csele would have loved to get dressed and strut just the same.

Now, Csele was a smart merman. After three months of exploring, he could comprehend human lingo well enough to recognize the individual words assigned to these unusual materials. Silk, cashmere, pure wool, coarse wool, linen… oh, how Csele yearned to wrap himself in soft silk. Yet there was one thing Csele wanted more than a cashmere coat. A surprisingly simple thing, to be honest.

A hat. 

Now, it was no ordinary hat – if hats could be ordinary in the first place. It was a wide-brimmed, woven straw hat with a pleated black band. This fancy hat had been detected one fine spring morning, when a fisherman decided to block his way to the transport vessels Csele had been admiring for months. 

To say Csele was annoyed at first would be a huge understatement. But at the sight of that hat, all the insults he had wanted to throw at that dumbhead stuck in Csele’s throat and left him short of breath. This beautiful, beautiful hat sheltered the face of a broad-shouldered human no older than Csele. Sun kissed skin. Muscles tensing from exertion… oh, what a wonderful hat it was. Csele needed to have it. 

So, he swam towards the little boat to approach the fisherman from behind, hoping that a surprise attack would allow him to grab the hat and swim back home before the human could do anything about it. The boy was whistling. It was a weird and piercing sound, in Csele’s opinion, but loud enough to make his blitz attack work. He wanted to be inconspicuous - as silent and sinuous as a hungry shark. While he tried his best to create as few ripples as he could, Csele realized the fisherman was too caught up in his whistling to actually take notice of his surroundings. Perfect. The boatman, like all humans, was a true idiot. 

_Good luck catching any fish with that attitude, Mr. Dumbhead,_ he thought, snickering to himself. Attention fixed on the hat, Csele curled his fingers around the wooden rail and tried to pull himself up slowly. Although the boat creaked dangerously under his weight, it didn’t capsize. 

“Huh?” The whistling stopped, but the boatman didn’t turn around to check the cause of the sudden rickety movement. Csele held his breath. A fly landed on the fisherman’s bare, sweaty right shoulder, and the human craned his neck to catch a glimpse of it. The fly remained perfectly still. Licking his salty lips, Csele waited perfectly still. “Oh, go away.” The boatman swatted the fly with a flick of his fingers and yawned loudly. 

It was now or never. Csele stretched his fingers towards the hat. Just a tad bit more…! The fly waltzed around Csele’s wrist and landed on top on the human’s left shoulder. 

Just a tad bit more…!! 

_SLAP!_

“Gotcha!”

Eyes widening in surprise, Csele let go of the boat and fell backwards into the water with a loud _splash_. The boatman furrowed his eyebrows, eyes flickering from the dead fly on his hand to Csele flailing his arms in the water.

“Fuck! Don’t panic!” The boatman shouted. “I am going to save you!!”

“What the - ! No! Nooo!”

Too late. The boatman had already jumped over the railing to save the drowning… merman.

“I got you, I got you!”

“Get your hands off me, you dumbhead!” Csele shouted at the boatman at the top of his lungs and slapped him across the face with his tail so hard the fisherman fell unconscious. “Oh, damn it!”

The boatman was floating face down in the water. Tiny bubbles gurgled from his open mouth towards the surface. Csele flipped him around and tried to push him over the boat, but he was just too heavy. There was no other way: he needed to wake the fisherman up. So Csele slapped him again, with his hand this time, and added a “Wake up, you idiot!” for good measure. 

It took him another couple of slaps until the idiot’s eyes finally fluttered open. Not waiting for the other to spit saltwater all over him, Csele left him hanging over the rail and swam away faster than a sailfish. His sister would be proud. 

(First attempt at getting the hat: F minus.)

***

Csele wanted the hat. He dreamed of the hat at night, thought about the hat all day, saw the hat in every jellyfish he encountered. The hat was simply everywhere. He tried hard to come up with a good, foolproof plan to get the hat from the boatman’s big head. Surprising the boatman didn’t work. The only thing that could do the trick was to draw the human’s attention away, grab the hat and abscond before the idiot realized what was happening. 

If Csele had learned something in those three months of following ships, it was that humans loved pointless chatter. What if he struck up a conversation? He would manage to get close enough to the hat _and_ , most importantly, he wouldn’t risk drowning its lawful owner like last time - or get killed in the process. The boatman did kill a fly in cold blood, which meant he was dangerous. But Csele did manage to knock him out with a tail-slap, which meant he wasn’t as strong as those muscled shoulders suggested. His plan was definitely worth a shot. 

For a week, he scouted the area where he had first encountered the idiot boatman to find out his routine and favorite fishing spot. After evaluating the most convenient place and time to act, Csele planned how to break the ice and what to say. After practicing his conversation with a puffer fish, he decided to put his plan into action. 

On the chosen day, the boatman was exactly where he should have been with Csele’s soon-to-be hat on his head, whistling loudly and scaring his prey away by doing so. Csele swam around the boat. He took his sweet time picking the perfect place to make his very dramatic entrance. When he was finally satisfied with his choice, he slowly pulled himself up, folded his arm over the rail for balance and coughed to get the human’s attention. 

The boatman kept whistling. Csele coughed harder. 

“Huh?” Glancing over his shoulder, a range of conflicting emotions crossed over the boatman’s face. None of them made sense to Csele, not in this kind of situation. He was having difficulty understanding why the boatman seemed particularly pleased at the sight of him. “You’re the guy from last time!”

To say Csele was surprised that the boatman had managed to see his face long enough to remember him was sure a huge understatement. All the things he had rehearsed to say vanished from his memory, leaving him in a state of utter confusion. 

“I… err…”

“You swim here often?” The boatman asked, catching Csele completely off-guard. 

“I live here.”

“In the water?”

“I’m a merman,” Csele explained with a roll of his eyes. He raised his tail for good measure, large drops of water dripping onto the little boat’s deck. He expected the boatman to scream, try to catch him, attempt an attack on him – to do anything his mother had told him humans did when they met with someone from another race. All he got, however, was a nod of understanding. 

“That’s why you disappeared last time,” the boatman said with a confident smile. A very inappropriate reaction when you were in the presence of a King, in Csele’s opinion. “I thought you’d drowned and hit rock bottom.”

“I’m very much alive, thank you,” Csele snapped. For some reason he couldn’t comprehend, he felt irritated by the boatman’s laid-back nature. He expected fear, interest, or perhaps a tiny bit of reverence at the sight of him, but nothing of the sort happened. The boatman continued as if they were long lost acquaintances. Nevertheless, Csele was kind of relieved the boatman was much more stupid and naïve than he had first thought. It made his job much easier. 

“I’ve never met a merman before. What’s your name?” the boatman asked, putting his fishing rod down and giving Csele his undivided attention. Ah, undivided attention was not ideal. It meant Csele had to be creative in order to distract him and get the hat. But what to do? What to do? Sing a song maybe? Nah. That would be stupid. 

“Cat got your tongue?” the boatman asked, lips tugging upwards into a grin and irritating Csele further. 

“What’s a cat?”

“It’s…” The boatman thought it over. “An animal, I suppose. It has four paws.”

“You suppose?”

“I’m Csónakos.” Completely ignoring Csele’s question, the boatman laughed and extended his hand out to him. Csele was too surprised by the sound of that laughter to pay attention to the boatman’s outstretched hand and the implications of such a human gesture. His gaze lingered on the other’s mouth before he quickly shifted it to the boatman’s hat. Damn that hat. 

“My name’s Csele.”

Ok, he got this far. Now what would the best course of action be? Sing a song maybe? Oh, for fuck’s sake. No one was going to sing any songs. Csónakos stared at him, his gaze so penetrating Csele was sure he had mind-reading abilities. Wait a minute, did humans have mind-reading abilities?!

“Are legends true?” Csónakos asked, bending forwards to look him straight in the eyes. 

“What’s true?” 

“That mermaids like to sing?”

Damn. They did have mind-reading abilities!!

“Can you read minds?!” 

That might have come out louder than he intended but, in his defense, Csele had every right to be panicked. 

“Were you really thinking about singing a song to me?” Csónakos brightened. “Yes, yes! Sing! When I’ll tell the guys a merman sang for me, they will be so jealous and all the chicks - !”

“As if!” Csele screamed. He fell back down in the water and violently pushed Csónakos’ boat with his tail, capsizing it. 

He swam away fast and did not look behind. 

(Second attempt at getting the hat No. 2: F minus.) 

*

Despite two failed attempts at getting the hat, Csele decided not to give up yet. He tried talking with Csónakos again, but without freaking out about humans’ telepathic powers. Conversations were extremely awkward at first. All they did was exchange pointless information about each other’s worlds, although it was usually Csónakos who did all the talking. The boatman loved going into great detail about his circle of friends, and thus Csele knew them all on a first name basis already on the first day. He had no idea how anyone could be as pathetic as Boka with his weird dance around a certain Nemecsek, and he enjoyed the recounts of Barabás’ and Kolnay’s banters a little more than was strictly appropriate. Moreover, he did find Csónakos’ passion when talking about his friends kind of mesmerizing. Their stupid shenanigans made him feel much better about himself and his two failed attempts at getting the hat. 

It must be said that Csele was curious to meet these guys, but he pushed his wish to go on a little tour in Csónakos’ city to the back of his mind. He had to stay focused on the task at hand. He was not there for pointless chit-chat. Every time Csele told himself that this day would be the day he finally got the hat - and every time, the hours spent with Csónakos would fly by so quickly that he would completely forget and go back home without it. 

Making people lose track of time was probably another human super-ability. 

On the fifth day of knowing Csónakos, Csele decided he needed to try something else. He loved talking too much. It was incredible how he always ended up distracting himself and not the target of said distractions. 

According to his sister, another thing humans liked was hoarding meaningless stuff and bargaining it for other… more meaningless stuff. Csónakos had never talked about the importance of such barbaric barters, but Csele decided that his next attempt would be just that: find something stupid that might catch Csónakos’ eye and trade it for the hat. 

So on their seventh meeting, he swam up with a basket under his arm and emptied its contents right under Csónakos’ surprised gaze. 

“What’s that?” he asked, blinking stupidly. A look that fit him well, in Csele’s opinion.

“We merpeople exchange gifts to form enduring friendships,” Csele lied, rolling his eyes when Csónakos ‘ooh’ed in amazement. 

“That’s so cool. You’re lucky I have some things too that might interest you,” he said. Then, under Csele’s surprised gaze, he started listing the stuff while he emptied his pockets. 

A comb, two pebbles, a packet of chewing gum, a small notebook, a pen, a pencil, another pebble, his wallet, the keys to his house - !

“How did you fit all that in your pockets?!” Csele exclaimed. Csónakos grinned and kept going. 

Four slimy coins, another pencil with a broken tip and -

“This picture.”

Csele moved closer and took the framed picture Csónakos was offering him. He stared at it, heart beating fast as he studied it. Csónakos’ toothy grin blinded him. Arm around another, more serious looking boy, the boatman was pointing at the camera, laughing his ass off. 

“That’s Boka,” Csónakos explained, tapping his finger on the glass right above Boka’s nose. “Nemecsek framed this for me.”

“He’s handsome,” Csele mumbled with a frown. 

“Who? Boka?” Csónakos took the photo back and studied it from all angles. “He has nothing on me.”

Csele snorted but turned serious again when Csónakos arched an eyebrow at him, confused.

“I want that,” Csele said. Csónakos tilted his head to the side. Shifting his gaze away, Csele blushed. 

“You like him that much?”

“We don’t have such things back home,” Csele rushed to say, trying to suppress his misguided rage. “Give me that thing and you’ll get to choose whatever you like from these.” Csele waved his hand at the things he had found here and there on the bottom of the sea. 

“This is a gift from my friend, though.”

“Are you implying you don’t want to be friends with me?” Angrily, Csele started tossing his stuff back into the basket. “Oh, well. If that’s what you want!”

“No, wait!” Csónakos exclaimed and grabbed his wrist. Csele stared at their hands, eyes wide as saucers. “Was that a pearl? A real one?”

“What?” Csele asked stupidly, still staring at their hands. Csónakos let him go and reached for the small little pearl Csele was ready to shove back into his basket. 

“Wow! This is so cool.”

Csele’s eyes narrowed into slits. He stared, puzzled, at Csónakos marveling at the pearl for a couple of minutes before he broke into a wide smile. 

“That’s worth as much as your picture and that comb,” Csele said. 

“I’ll just give you the comb for this.” Csónakos bargained. 

“No way! That pearl is worth much more than that.” Csele sniffed in disapproval. “I want the picture and the comb. Or the deal is off.”

“Fine.” Csónakos pushed the picture and the comb in Csele’s greedy hands and slid the pearl into his pocket. “Are we friends now?”

“The best of friends!” Csele exclaimed, putting all his meaningless stuff back into the basket. He glanced at the smiling Csónakos in the picture. “See you next time!”

It was only when he returned home that realization hit him. 

He had wasted his opportunity to get the hat. 

Damn. 

…

But at least he got a picture to make up for it, right?

(Third attempt at getting the hat: D… minus?) 

*

Csele couldn’t stop staring at the picture. He wondered what it would be like, being able to walk on the surface and kick Csónakos’ ass. It sounded like a blast, nothing like his boring life under the sea. With his hat, Csele would walk under the scorching sun while Csónakos whined behind him. Ah, he could picture them oh-so-well in his mind. Csónakos, all sweaty and bothered, lips slightly parted as he _begged_ to get his hat back, and Csele… with his new, amazing hat, having the time of his life. 

But here Csele was. Under the sea, with no hat, while Csónakos cooled himself with it in his pathetic little boat. No, he had to do something about it. 

After seeking his sister’s advice, Csele realized that maybe he had to pull out the big guns in order to get the hat. Since talking and bargaining didn’t work, she told him, maybe flirting would do the trick. It worked with other mermaids, so why not him? All in all, Csele had nothing to lose. 

“Except my reputation.”

His sister giggled. 

Csele had never flirted before, but he had watched enough adults to know how it should be done. He doubted Csónakos was witty enough to understand that he had an ulterior motive. Maybe it could work out well for him. All he needed to do was to lure Csónakos in, close enough to snatch that hat off from that dumb head. 

So that day, Csele swam to the surface with a resolute look on his face. He had no idea how he should bring it up, but he was determined to get the hat at any cost. As always, Csónakos was waiting for him. 

“Hey, Csele!” 

Csele folded his arms over the railing as Csónakos turned his attention to him. The boatman’s smile wavered as Csele slowly ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing them backwards. Damn the water getting into his eyes. He couldn’t see a thing. 

“Hey.” Csele lowered his voice down a notch. Realizing he probably sounded sick, Csele cleared his throat and tried again. “Hey, Csónakos.” 

Water trickled down his nose and onto his mouth, and Csele wiped it off with his thumb. Damn, he tried so hard to get his hair just right that morning… if only he had remembered that his hair looked like shit every time he surfaced. Water was a weird medium. 

“What’s up?” Csele asked, licking his salty bottom lip. Ah, sea water was so weird. It tasted different on the surface. But wait… why wasn’t Csónakos answering his question? 

Csele frowned, glancing at Csónakos through half-lidded eyes. The boatman was acting as weird as sea water. He was staring at him with an indecipherable look on his face, cheeks slightly redder than usual. “Are you alright?”

“I’m…” Csónakos coughed loudly. “I’m fine.”

Shit. Of all the days Csele had decided to go for the flirt-attack, it had to be the day Csónakos was ill. Just his luck. Should he go for it anyway?

“Caught anything today?” Csele asked, trying to buy some time while he decided how to carry out his plan. 

“Not much.” Csónakos’ voice was husky and rough. Suddenly worried, Csele caught his arm and rubbed his thumb over the inside of his wrist. If he remembered correctly, humans measured fever through the skin – that was what his sister said anyway. It must have been true, because Csónakos suddenly turned ten shades of red. 

“You’re hot.”

Csónakos’ jaw slacked open in surprise. Csele smirked. He must have surprised him with his knowledge on how to measure temperature correctly. His triumph was short lived, however. Csele sincerely doubted that flirting with a sick man could help him get the hat, since Csónakos would be too cold to take it off. 

Damn. He really had to settle for a normal chit-chat today.

“I bet it’s because you stayed under the sun all day long, waiting to catch something,” Csele said with a frown. 

“Maybe.” Csónakos’ gaze shifted to his rod, looking unexpectedly relieved at the sudden change of subject. “I don’t seem to have much luck these days.”

“I bet it’s because your rod is soft.” Csele puffed out his chest with pride when Csónakos arched an eyebrow at him. Csele was a smart merman. He might not be the greatest angler under the sea, but he had heard enough from humans to know a thing or two about their fishing techniques. “You see,” he said, tugging Csónakos’ abandoned rod towards himself and tracing his finger up and down on the wood to make his point clear. “This bends all the way down. Sometimes full-flex action is fun, but it’s only good for small fishes, Csónakos. You know what I mean? Small fishes will never get your pulse going. These waters need a stiffer rod, a tip-flex one, that can shoot longer casts. The longer, the better. Flexibility is not everything. Sometimes you have to try the harder rod.”

Csónakos cast his eyes down and coughed. “I’ll try it out next time.” 

“We don’t use rods,” Csele continued, loving how witty he sounded talking about fishing. “I know a thing or two about stiff rods, because I’m that good, but we merpeople usually just catch the fish with our hands. We shove our fists down a hole, hoping it’s not too tight - !”

Csónakos coughed, louder this time. “I think I should go home now.”

“You’re looking really hot,” Csele said, grabbing Csónakos’ wrist again. “Damn, you’re burning up!”

“Yeah, fuck, I feel a little sweaty.”

“You need to go lie down!” Csele exclaimed. Humans had no sense of self-preservation! What was Csónakos thinking, going out with a fever?! What an idiot! 

“Oh, I sure do.” Csónakos smiled at him, probably trying to be reassuring. Csele scoffed. 

“Take care of yourself, dumbass.”

“Oh, I will.” 

Csele nodded and waved him off. He hoped Csónakos would feel better the next day… then Csele would try to flirt like he was supposed to do and get the damned hat. 

(Fourth attempt at getting the hat: F.)

*

Flirting didn’t work.

The problem was that every time he opened his mouth, nothing seemed to be… flirtatious enough. They always ended up talking about something or another that left no room for some good old pick-up lines. To be entirely honest, Csele found their silly conversations much more interesting than lousy flirting. After convincing himself that Csónakos wasn’t the type of guy who knew when someone was hitting on him, Csele gladly abandoned the idea.

The question now was: what would be the best course of action to get the hat?

Simply asking never even crossed his mind. He doubted Csónakos would ever give it to him willingly. Csele had always thought he needed to act smart. Even manipulating Csónakos into handing it to him seemed like a good idea. But surprise attacks, distractions through talking, bargaining and flirting didn’t work out well for him. He probably had to be more direct. Ask and you shall receive, wasn’t that the humans saying?

Gazing at Csónakos’ picture, Csele wondered what he would do after reaching his goal. The whole point of approaching the dumb boatman had only been that hat. What would Csele do once he had it? Go back to his boring routine as a never-to-be King of the Seven Seas? Csele had seen enough of the world above to grow curious about the rest of it. He wanted to see the world Csónakos lived in. He wanted to meet Csónakos’ friends. He wanted to hear what Csónakos had to say when Csele would finally strut in skinny jeans and silk shirts. 

Once he had the hat, however, would he ever have the guts to see Csónakos again? Would it even make sense to? He doubted Csónakos would want to see him anymore, if Csele somehow managed to snatch the hat off his head and disappeared. But maybe he was overanalyzing things. Did Csónakos even care anyway? He had a life outside of Csele: friends, family and a whole world at his feet. Csele only had a land that stretched as far as the eye could see. Beautiful, but not as exciting as people thought it was. Once Csele got the hat and disappeared, Csónakos would easily forget him. 

Csele had to choose. He could either have the hat, or Csónakos’ friendship. In that moment, the hat seemed like the most feasible thing he could get. 

That day, Csele decided it would be his last attempt at getting the hat. He would talk about it in a roundabout way, assess Csónakos’ loyalty to it and… simply ask for it. 

As always, Csónakos was fishing in his preferred spot, holding a stiffer rod this time. Csele beamed when Csónakos proudly showed him a basket full of fish. 

“You were right,” Csónakos said. “I needed a different tactic.”

“I’m always right.” Csele grinned and Csónakos snorted. It was an adorable sound, much better than his whistling, in Csele’s opinion. As if he could read Csele’s mind (and the merman had no doubt he could), Csónakos rested his gaze on Csele. A tender expression graced his features, leaving Csele kind of short of breath. 

“You’re not always right.” Csónakos’ teasing tone didn’t go unnoticed. 

“I beg to differ.” 

Csónakos snorted and tossed his line farther away. Studying Csónakos’ profile under the hat, Csele’s determination faltered. Panic surged within him at the thought of putting an end to those hours spent in each other’s company. Those overwhelming feelings of loss lasted but a moment, however. He wanted the hat too badly to give it up now. 

“So…” Csele tried. “Your hat.”

“What about it?” Csónakos asked, clearly surprised, and took it off. Csele’s eyes lingered on the beads of sweat on his forehead for a moment longer than was strictly necessary.

“It’s a nice hat.”

“Hmm…It’s my mom’s.”

“Oh.” Csele’s heart dropped at Csónakos’ confession. 

“I know I look ridiculous in it, but I have no other option at the moment.”

“Hmmm.”

“I bet she would like you,” Csónakos said with a wide smile, putting the hat back on. “I wish you could come with me on land. I want to introduce you to everyone.”

Csele didn’t reply. Suddenly feeling sad, he shifted his eyes elsewhere. 

“Or I could bring my friends here one day.” Csónakos’ voice sounded strangely hopeful. “They’ll scare the fish away but - !”

“I don’t think this can work,” Csele interrupted him. “You and I belong to different worlds.”

Csónakos frowned. Csele could see him struggle to come up with a retort. 

“I thought we were friends.” 

Csele bit his lip, hating how hurt Csónakos sounded. “We are.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

To say Csele was surprised by Csónakos’ question would be an understatement. Looking up at the hat, Csele finally came to a decision. It was now or never. He would ask for the hat, and if Csónakos gave it to him, it would mean he was willing to sacrifice his own family and friends for Csele’s friendship. If not, then Csele knew he had no future with Csónakos - because he would never give up something that belonged to his mom to someone like Csele. That trail of thought made perfect sense to Csele. 

“Could you do me a favor?” Csele asked, ignoring Csónakos’ expectant expression. 

“What favor?” Csónakos peered into Csele’s eyes. 

Csele looked at the hat, then at Csónakos, then at the hat again. 

It was now or never. 

“Will you give me...”

Csónakos tilted his head and slowly approached him, crawling across the small deck on his hands and knees. Rod laying forgotten, Csónakos pushed past the basket of fish and moved into a weird position to speak with Csele at the same eye level. 

“Give you what?” 

“Will you give me…” The words stuck to Csele’s throat. 

“What?” Csónakos prodded him. Csele stared at him, eyes going wide. He was so close… and the hat was even more beautiful at such proximity. It fitted perfectly to Csónakos’ head shape. Csele loved the way the shade fell on that gorgeous face, on that slight concave bend of his nose, on those full lips, on… 

“Kiss me.” 

All thoughts of the hat flew right out of Csele’s head when Csónakos did.

(Fifth attempt at getting the hat: C minus. No. B minus. Argh. B. No. A minus. Definitely A minus.)

***

At this point of the story, Csele was so ashamed of letting himself go like that that he seriously considered going into exile in the most hidden depths of the Seven Seas. Was he overreacting? Probably. Csónakos had kissed him back, after all, and it had been a pretty decent kiss. But it had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, which meant it might never develop into something serious. Who was he kidding? He was a merman and Csónakos was a human being. They were not meant to be together. 

Yet, all Csele wanted was to go back to him. Going into exile in the most hidden depths of the Seven Seas didn’t sound like a fun experience anyway. He would rather listen to the idiocies coming out of Csónakos’ wonderful mouth for ages without interruption to living one day buried in an unfashionable cave. Who cared about hats and distractions and failed flirting attempts anymore? There was nothing but one name in his heart, and that was Csónakos Csónakos Csónakos Csónakos. 

“You’re being a drama queen,” his sister told him when Csele flung himself across his bed with an arm over his eyes for the tenth time in one single day. 

“Let me die in peace.” 

“This is ridiculous.”

“I am a mess.”

“It was just a kiss.”

“He hates me.”

“He kissed back!”

“I’ll never be happy…”

“Will you stop that?” Csele turned his back to her and mumbled something under his breath. His sister sighed. “You’re not going into exile.” 

“I am and I will.”

“Seriously, Csele, as if you didn’t know that we can grow legs once we’re on land.”

Csele slowly lowered his arm from his face. “We can do what now?”

“We can walk on land.” His sister rolled her eyes. “Since forever.”

“But mom said we are not supposed to go on land.”

His sister looked sheepish. “She lied. She knew you’d only get in trouble with that temper of yours… and she was right. Look at you now!”

“I can walk on land?” Csele blinked at her, feeling his smile growing bigger. He didn’t wait for an answer and swam away as fast as he could. 

Csónakos was right where he always was, staring at the horizon with an unreadable expression on his face. Unable to hold his excitement, Csele hit the boat with his tail, making Csónakos jump in surprise. 

“Csele?” Csónakos crawled over to him, grinning like a madman. He arched an eyebrow when Csele started flailing his arms around. “What are you doing?” 

“Help me up, idiot!” Csele ordered, grabbing Csónakos’ arm and trying to pull himself up on his own. Csónakos was stronger, however, and hauled him up on board effortlessly. Csele spread his tail out on the deck and waited. 

“What’s going on?”

“Sssh!” Csele stared at his tail hard, squinting at the reflection of the light off the scales. It happened slowly. As the seawater evaporated under the scorching sun, his tail gradually morphed into a pair of legs. Csele grinned. “I can finally meet your friends! Hey, are you okay, Csónakos? Are you ill again?”

Csónakos was uncharacteristically silent. Eyes as big as saucers, he kept staring at a point under Csele’s belly. Csele prodded him with his finger, worried. 

“We need to find clothes for you.” Csónakos swiftly took his hat off and shoved it into Csele’s lap, peering right into Csele’s eyes. “I don’t think I will ever hear the end of it if I bring a naked man home.”

“Can I keep the hat?” 

“It’s yours. All yours. But keep it on your lap until we find some clothes.”

Grinning widely, Csele leaned in to kiss Csónakos on the lips. “I want a cashmere coat and a silk shirt.”

“O-okay,” Csónakos said with a strangled voice. 

Csele couldn’t stop smiling. He gazed at the dark outline of land spreading across the horizon while Csónakos rowed, whistling loudly and scaring all the fish away. 


End file.
